Happy? Well, they are a lot more happy than if they weren't swimming. It looks like a boring life to us because we have an imagination and just watching them swim can be boring for us, " Come on fish, DO something!" Some people put fancy caves and castles and arches and all kinds of junk in with them hoping the fish will swim in and out or through them, the fish don't care and they rarely do swim through them. If you can get some food inside the castle or under the arches the fish will start going in there looking for it. That's about the only thing that interests a fish in the wild , trying to find something to eat or trying not to become something to eat. You could put a bass or pike in with them and then your gold fish's life would get real interesting. Or you could go rent a DVD of "Jaws" or "Piranha!" and set their tank in front of the TV.

Well, one thing you definatively should NOT do if you have any consideration what so ever for your fish is keep them in one of those tiny fish bowls. Your fish will have only a short life and will be very unhappy. If you want your fishs live to interesting and you want them to be happy you should keep them in a fish tank, with some companions. Put some live plants in the tank, and gravel on the bottom.

Well, those goldfish ... previously believed to have a memory of just a few seconds ... can distinguish between different times of day and can also be taught to follow a routine. In 2003 Scientists at Plymouth University successfully trained goldfish to collect food at particular times of day. As we know, research has suggested that fish feel pain when they are caught on a hook, can be manipulative and socially aware, have long memories and are able to recognize their shoal-mates (ahem). Now research has added a sophisticated body clock to the piscine intellect. In the experiments at Plymouth U goldfish were placed in a bowl in which they were fed only when they pressed a lever. The fish rapidly learned that pressing the lever produced a food reward. Once they had been trained in this way, the researchers set up the lever to work for just one hour a day. The goldfish soon became wise to this and learned to press the lever at the same time every day to feed. Dr. Philip Gee commented: "The fish worked out that if they hit the lever around that time, they would get some food. Their activity around the lever increased enormously just before the set hour when their food was dispensed." But wait, what if no food came out? Yes, that became part of the research and voila the goldfish stopped pressing the lever when the hour was up. This is called: Adaptation. The ability to change with change in circumstance - like any other small animals and birds and sometimes carbon based bipeds. It would seem that it is indeed possible to learn and grow with your goldfish and reflect on what you are teaching them and what they are teaching you.

Provide your fish with a mirror for an hour or so a day, this gives him "someone" new to relate to if he is kept alone. Place the mirror against the bowl or tank and watch his reaction. Fish also enjoys "toys"--bit of lettuce and leafy greens that they can either eat or play with. You might also try interacting with your fish. Fish can and do enjoy being stroked, but it does take a bit of patience to teach them that the large pink wiggling thing in their tank isn't going to eat them. They will also respond to low volumed music, just don't place the speaker against their "world", the vibrations can kill them.

hello,i purchased two frogs for my mother;s goldfish tank plus she has a small ball for them,they are so actived dude,thank you for your time.

If you have an elongated fish tank, try electrifying it .... not to elecrocute the fish, but with a small trickle of DC current, say a 1.5 volt battery. Place one electrode [wire] at one end and the other at the other end. The fish should be quite lively at the ..... end [I let you discover which end yourself] .... You should notice that the fish are lethargic at one end and very lively at the other end. Have fun. When I taught Science I had some students do this project and they handed very interesting reports. One more thing to try if you have lots of fish .... use different coloured lights and find out which light gives them the most pleasure.

I don't think any fish is happy all by itself. They are "herd" animals like horses, cows, antelope and sheep. If you won't add more fish, at least add plants to their tank. At least artificial ones. Fish are not so stupid that they do not get bored. I spent a great deal of time sitting in a shallow springfed river one summer and found that the local perch were very amused by me. I would sit in the same spot each day, and this group of about two dozen small perch would come over. One seemed to be the "alpha" of the group and all the rest would defer to it. This one fish eventually came to trust me enough to allow me to hold it between my hands without a means of escape. At first I would slowly bring my hands together on each side of it and stop short of closing them around it. Then I would stroke the sides of the fish, gently. Eventually it would stay immobile between my hands and finally allowed me to close it between them without struggling to get out. After a while, several of the smaller ones started doing the same thing, and I had come to recognize and given names to some of the individuals.

Believe it or not fish have personalities and relationships. My goldfish know my face, when my kid puts her face to the tank they just keep swimming if I put my face to the tank they come running straight to me. It is because they associate my face with feeding. If you want a fish that will live in the castles and caves that you buy try the tropicals wspecially the cichlids. Do your research and I promise you will find many hours of happiness peace and fascination watching your tank whether it be a 1.5 or a 150 gallon.

i think they are happy just swimming around. my teacher once said that gold fishes have twelve seconds of memory, so everytime they swim around inside the aquarium they are always seeing new things every twelve seconds.

Another Goldfish! Find out what it would take, if anything, to upgrade yourself to a multi-goldfish household. They may be dumb as fence posts - but I should think having another fishbuddy to think about, even if it is only for 3 seconds a pop, should be more interesting than nothin' at all! Happy? I'm not real confident that goldfish are capable of that complex emotion - heck, most people can't even master that one! Anywho, if you are willing to accept the increased responsibility of caring for an additional pet, get him/her a little friend (not too little or it may end up lunch).

I disagree with notmrjohn, since i put a castle decoration in my tank, the fish have been swimming around more and going thorugh the door(sometimes even staying there for hours). Of course this doesnt mean they are happier but one would think they are.

I am not happy just swimming around I swim for so long quite happy and then I hit a rock I am always looking to change direction but seem to end up just swimming the same old way. How can I change this?

Put a mirror in the tank that makes him look bigger. It will do wonders for his self esteem